Perspectives
Training Mixer: Luck of the Draw
by Shirley Lee
Sometimes
when you have a gathering of people, you want them to sit with new people
rather than with whom they always work or socialize. Here is a little
mixer I came up with for training sessions I did where the department managers
wanted their people to meet others in the department besides their immediate
work group. I call it “Luck of the Draw” and it only requires a
regular deck of playing cards and making some signs. Here is the setup
and rounds for mixing it up with up to 30 people.
Set-up:
1) For 30 people, put 6 people each at 5 tables. On each table, place a sign that has the following card deck suits: Hearts, Clubs, Diamonds, Spades, and Royals. If planning to mix up the group more after a break or midway, then also number the signs 1-5.
2) Take only the amount of each suit out of the card deck needed per seat at a table. For 6 seats per table, take out 6 numbered hearts, clubs, diamonds, and spades. Then take any 6 jacks, queens, or kings from the deck for the 5th table called Royals. Then make multiple hands of cards with one from each suit, if the group will be large.
Rounds:
1) As people come through the door, have them draw a card from the ones in the greeter’s hand. Then have them sit at the table that matches the suit on their card.
2) If another mix of people is desired sometime during the session or event, then have each person at each table call off a number by going clockwise around the table( and clockwise to the next table) 1 through 5. For 6 people per table, have the first 5 number as 1-5, then the 6th starts over at 1 with the next table being 2-5, then starting the numbering over again before moving to next table, and so-on until everyone has a number. Then each person and their things move to the numbered table matching their called number.
About the Author: Shirley
Lee has been a member of Dallas ASTD since 2000, has volunteered on various
committees, and served on the Leadership Team in 2006. She is a
consultant/facilitator who helps organizations increase employee,
communications, and system capacity to produce results. Shirley designs and
facilitates a variety of team building, problem solving, and productivity
improvement events. Her training programs include managing time, facilitating
meetings, project management simplified, workspace or group organization, the
problem solving process, and team-building. More information on Shirley, her
book "R.A!R.A! A Meeting
Wizard's Approach" and the option to sign-up for a free
productivity newsletter are available on her website www.shirleyfinelee.com.